Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 210: Rumors

Chapter 210: Rumors

"In 7 days..." Alex trailed off as he muttered the words, a complicated expression visible on his visage.

Gerald nodded as he remarked. "When you said those words, what came to my mind was that you were a cultist."

"I can only imagine." Alex intoned before asking. "So why did you help me?"

"Why?... Because you paid me, of course. Quite a huge sum if I might add." Gerald remarked in a somewhat jocular fashion that still managed to sound serious.

Alex could only wonder if he was capable of not being serious... though it did work to his benefit.

Ignoring Alex’s reaction, Gerald added. "Here in Popolis, it’s quite difficult to get such amounts in a short time so I had no reason to refuse your offer. If you were indeed a crazy person, I was prepared to shoulder the consequences, after all, I’m not completely helpless.

"So I brought you back here and nursed you back to health."

"How long has it been since then?" Alex asked after taking a moment to digest Gerald’s words.

"3 days, well, 4 if you count today."

"..." Alex pursed his lips as he pondered inwardly.

If he were to go along with what Gerald said, that meant only 6 days were left until ’God’ descended.

But what exactly did that mean?

Did that share a connection with why he was missing a portion of his memories?

And if it was, what was he to do with that information?

Was it good or bad for him that God was descending?

With so many questions and even more questions coming up, Alex was left unable to come up with any reasonable answers.

It was frustrating but at least, he had something to go on.

Letting out a sigh, he remarked. "Thank you for saving me."

"It’s not like I saved you for free. You paid and I did the job. As a mercenary, there’s no need to thank me."

Alex nodded. "Did you find anything on me when you saw me?"

"A cane and a revolver."

"Where are they?"

"Under your bed in the room."

"...Alright." Alex nodded.

"Anything else?... If you don’t mind, I’ve had a rough night and I’d like to retire if there’s nothing else you are curious about."

"I understand," Alex said before inquiring. "The money I paid you, is it still available?"

"Indeed it is. As I said, it was quite a substantial amount especially since you just asked that I provide you a place to stay."

Alex seemed satisfied with this as he promptly offered. "I want to know everything you know about Popolis."

"... That’s quite a lot."

"You can use what’s left of the money as payment." Alex quickly added.

"... Alright then, fine," Gerald replied, letting out a tired sigh as he placed the ice pack he was holding to his face on the table.

At this point, the bruise was more or less gone which made Alex wonder why he’d left the ice pack on in the first place.

"This city is..."

"Sorry to cut you off but... I’d like you to focus on major events within the last 10 years so as not to waste too much time."

"I see. Well so far, there have been only 3 major events within that period."

"3?" Alex raised a brow.

Gerald nodded. "Believe it or not, Popolis was a rather quiet city before with very little happening here. Of course, it all changed when a rumor began to spread."

"A rumor?"

"Mn." Gerald nodded. "In Popolis, there are few places that can be considered danger zones but the most dangerous place is naturally the Labyrinth of Dread located not too far from the eastern gate.

"It’s a relic of a time before the Dark Ages and the supposed resting place of a piece of some great deity. So it’s understandable that it would be marked as a no-go area though its outskirts are a lucrative site for mercenaries like myself that get a living hunting peculiar creatures."

"Go on." Alex leaned forward, his ears perked as he absorbed everything Gerald said.

Noting Alex’s attentiveness, Gerald continued. "Anyway, a year ago, roughly around the beginning of the month of Eos, a rumor began to spread that a foolish man had somehow broken the unspoken rule amongst us mercenaries and had intruded into the Labyrinth. Of course, most of us that heard of it passed it off as a rumor and even if it were real, we assumed the person would be dead."

"So what happened?"

"... It took 2 weeks before a new rumor spread... that the man had emerged and about him, a terrifying shroud of darkness that threatened to bloat out the light of the Lightbringer. This rumor was spread by the only mercenary that claimed to have seen the man."

"That man..."

"He is dead. He committed suicide a few days after sharing the news. His widow who was around when he took his life shared that he had suddenly gone mad and while aiming at his head with his revolver, he’d kept on repeating the same thing."

"What is it?"

"... It’s all fake."

***

Watson walked briskly down the empty street with his head down and a bow cap over his head, slightly obscuring his features.

He hugged himself with one hand while holding his bag with the other hand, his eyes darting about with vigilance.

Despite the light provided by the street lamps he made sure to walk under, Watson still felt like the darkness wasn’t receding and instead, seemed to grow even thicker.

Shadows danced about at corners and he could have sworn he saw something dart past at some point but knowing fully well that curiosity kills the cat, he didn’t dare pause for even a moment, instead increasing his steps as he soon reached his abode.

It was an old building with five floors.

Opening the door, he stepped into the reception where an old man with one eye and a mean expression occupied the counter.

"You are back early." The man commented.

Watson chuckled as he took off his cap. "Hehe, it was a minor check-up."

"Alright. There’s hot water if you want to bathe and the pipes are currently running so you’d do well to cook something before I turn it off."

"Thanks, I’ll be going now," Watson replied before quickly making his way up the stairs.

The old man’s eye followed his figure only for it to widen as he noticed that Watson’s footsteps had a distinct echo.

Immediately, a grim expression covered his visage.